Is Jesus Worthy of Worship?
It’s not enough to be interested or intrigued by Jesus. We can’t stop at agreeing intellectually to some facts about who he is...
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A Concise Background to Ezra/Nehemiah
Ezra and Nehemiah is the last chapter of the Old Testament narrative ...
God Provides for the Worship He Requires
“And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.” ...
What Difference Does the Resurrection Make?
The resurrection is meant to be an immediate and constant source of joy and hope to the Christian. The empty tomb gives us meaning beyond the grave, and meaning brings hope...
A Savior Who Forgives the Unforgivable
If we look at Luke 23, we see Jesus, Creator and Sustainer of the universe, wrongfully accused, tried, beaten, and now hanging on a Roman cross. If anything seems unforgivable, it is that offense. And yet, we hear Jesus on the cross pray, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”...
How to Pray Against Temptation
In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus teaches his disciples to pray, "lead us not into temptation" and near the end of his life, Jesus calls them to "pray that you may not enter into temptation." This should lead believers today to ask what temptation is, and how God uses prayer to combat it....
Being a servant in a #mefirst culture
We live in a #mefirst culture. But lest we think the disciples who spent time with Jesus were any different, we see how on the last night of Jesus’s life with them before the cross, they begin to argue among themselves who is the greatest. Jesus takes the time to show them who is truly great, and what true greatness is....
Is Jesus Worthy of Worship?
It’s not enough to be interested or intrigued by Jesus. We can’t stop at agreeing intellectually to some facts about who he is...
Waiting and Working: Seeking First His Kingdom
In Luke 12:22, Jesus is reminding us of our value to him, so much more than other things of creation. He provides for those other things, so why are we anxious about those things that we can’t ultimately control? Jesus concludes Luke 12 with the call, “Seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.” What does it mean to seek his kingdom? ...
Waiting and Working: Stewarding Resources
We should spend ourselves, no matter how many years we have left, waiting purposefully for Jesus return by working for his glory. Luke 9-19 points to a number of ways we can do this. Today, we will focus on how as we wait, we should be about the business of being good stewards of what he has entrusted to us....
Waiting and Working: Demonstrating Mercy
We should spend ourselves, no matter how many years we have left, waiting purposefully for Jesus return by working for his glory. Luke 9-19 points to a number of ways we can do this. Today, we will focus on how as we wait, we should be about the business of showing mercy toward those in need. ...
How Do Works and Grace Go Together?
Jesus has a call in Luke 19:11-27 for how we are to live as we wait for him to return: we need to be busy about kingdom work. In short, we’re not called to kill time or be distracted as we wait, but to work...
Jesus is the One Who Seeks
Throughout the Bible, we see that God is a missionary God...
The Heart of a Follower of Jesus: Childlike Faith
Jesus cares about the children, because he cares about all those made in his image. But Jesus’s point isn’t to give us a verse to use for why churches should have children’s ministries...
The Heart of a Follower of Jesus: Dependence
The faith of a follower of Jesus is a dependent faith, dependent on God who does the impossible...
What is the Gospel?
What do the writers of the New Testament mean when they say gospel? Why is it such a central concept that Christians need to understand today?...
The Grace of God Trains Us
What does it mean for us to be trained by the gospel? Titus 2:11-14 is a key passage to help us understand grace, gospel and training in righteousness....
How should we live today in light of that day?
Martin Luther said every Christian should have only two dates on their calendar...
What does the Gospel have to do with Unity?
What does the gospel have to teach us about unity as Christians?...
Why we must think in a Christ-Centered Way
At the heart of the gospel and the Christian life is the person and work of Jesus. If Jesus is most excellent and above all and if Jesus is worthy of all the praise of the universe, then it would follow that for our thinking to be what Paul is calling for in Philippians 4:8, “If there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise†then it must find it’s source in Christ. If we want to change the way we act, we must change the way we think and the way to change how we think is to understand right doctrine that is founded upon Jesus. He is the cornerstone....
Josh Moody Article on Justification
Dr. Josh Moody, Sr. Pastor at College Church in Wheaton, joined us on Sunday morning, October 14. He preached from Galatians 2:11-14 "How One Long Word Can Make a Big Difference to Your Life." Dr. Moody wrote an article on justification that has been posted on Christianity Today Online. Since we have been going through our doctrinal statement as a church, and Dr. Moody will be touching on justification this Sunday, it would be a helpful article for you to check out....
Waiting and Working: Seeking First His Kingdom
In Luke 12:22, Jesus is reminding us of our value to him, so much more than other things of creation. He provides for those other things, so why are we anxious about those things that we can’t ultimately control? Jesus concludes Luke 12 with the call, “Seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.” What does it mean to seek his kingdom? ...
Keep ReadingWaiting and Working: Stewarding Resources
We should spend ourselves, no matter how many years we have left, waiting purposefully for Jesus return by working for his glory. Luke 9-19 points to a number of ways we can do this. Today, we will focus on how as we wait, we should be about the business of being good stewards of what he has entrusted to us....
Keep ReadingWaiting and Working: Demonstrating Mercy
We should spend ourselves, no matter how many years we have left, waiting purposefully for Jesus return by working for his glory. Luke 9-19 points to a number of ways we can do this. Today, we will focus on how as we wait, we should be about the business of showing mercy toward those in need. ...
Keep ReadingHow Do Works and Grace Go Together?
Jesus has a call in Luke 19:11-27 for how we are to live as we wait for him to return: we need to be busy about kingdom work. In short, we’re not called to kill time or be distracted as we wait, but to work...
Keep ReadingThe Heart of a Follower of Jesus: Dependence
The faith of a follower of Jesus is a dependent faith, dependent on God who does the impossible...
Keep ReadingWhy we must think in a Christ-Centered Way
At the heart of the gospel and the Christian life is the person and work of Jesus. If Jesus is most excellent and above all and if Jesus is worthy of all the praise of the universe, then it would follow that for our thinking to be what Paul is calling for in Philippians 4:8, “If there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise†then it must find i...
Keep ReadingJonah Sermon Series starts this week
We will be starting a four week series on the book of Jonah this Sunday, April 29, 2012. In preparation for the series, take some time with your family to read the book of Jonah together....
Keep ReadingR.A.I.S.E.D. Part 2
Part 2 of our Easter series of posts about the truth of the resurrection: I heard a speaker say recently that it was not as if the disciples were sitting around on Saturday night after Jesus died on Friday having a party saying, "I can't wait until tomorrow!" The disciples, though Jesus had clearly taught of his coming death and resurrection, didn't "get it" until he ap...
Keep ReadingA Question for Christmas: The True (almost) Tale of Amanda Snidefeller
A Short story for children (and adults!) that was written by Pastor Jeff Brewer about Amanda Snidefeller, the little girl who was positively fed up with Christmas. It was shared on Christmas Eve at Hope Fellowship....
Keep ReadingBehold Your King Sermon Series
At Hope Fellowship we have been looking at the incarnation through the lens of how Christ is our King. It has been a joy to worship together celebrating advent for the first time as a new church. The links to the audio for the four week series are now online. ...
Keep ReadingDay #11 Live with a Mission: Worship
As long as Rachel could remember she wanted to be an attorney. While it was a little awkward to be the only kid at halloween carrying a briefcase, she stuck to her dreams until she passed the bar exam on the first try. If people thought she was driven during law school they would have been surprised to learn that she actually had another gear in the workplace; no amount o...
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